Myanmar said it had released dozens of detained activists as the fast-changing country hosts top-level international visitors, including from the European Union.

Some 69 inmates were freed, the latest in a series of releases that have been seen internationally as a key marker of the country's emergence from military rule.

A statement from the president's office said, "The committee for scrutinising the status of remaining political prisoners will continue working to grant amnesty to all remaining political prisoners before the end of December 2013.